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Monday, September 9, 2013

If you are looking for a good read Hat Trick by Jeff Adams is well worth your time

Today, I want to introduce you to my writer friend Jeff Adams. I think I started stalking him on twitter because he lives in New York City and loves hockey. I also love his writing. He creates such visceral characters that they just leap off the page for me, and I become completely involved in these fictional lives. If you haven't heard of Jeff, take a moment to read about his latest book. I seriously couldn't put it down and read it in two nights.

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Thanks, Michael, for letting me drop in on your blog to talk about Hat Trick, my debut YA novel, which is just out from Queerteen Press. You can find it for download HERE.

Michael and I met on Twitter a while ago and have become long distance writing friends. I was intrigued by his A Crisis of Two Worlds series since it’s got a super smart, dimension-traveling hockey player. I had the pleasure of beta reading both Slipstream and Oculus and am eagerly looking forward to Caledfwlch because I desperately need to know what happens next. I like the series so much, there’s is a brief nod to it in Hat Trick.

Hat Trick’s first draft was written during National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) in November 2006. It was my first time trying to do NaNo and I combined some of my favorite things: hockey, young adult fiction and romance. I had never read a gay YA novel that had hockey players or featured teammates as the featured couple. Even six years later, Hat Trick is the only gay YA story I know with that combination (if you know of a book that has these attributes, please let me know as I’d like to read it).

Hat Trick plays out over the course of the hockey season at Central High School, set in a town outside of Pittsburgh. Central is working to get the state championship back to the school for the first time in years, and its senior lineup is key to that success. Simon Roberts has been on the team since he was a freshman. What his teammates, even his closest friends, don't know is that he's had a crush on Alex Miller since Alex joined the team in their junior year.

Simon keeps his feelings to himself. It's not until during the first game of senior year that everything comes out. Except it's Alex telling Simon that he likes him, which Simon wasn't expecting at all.

Once the guys are forced out of the closet, they do their best to stay focused on the game. There's the state championships to work for, plus the each want scholarships. For Simon, that's a paramount importance since he wants to get out of state and away from his overbearing father and brother.

Simon and Alex have a supportive coach in James Archer. When I started writing Hat Trick, the You Can Play project didn't exist yet. Coach Archer, however, subscribed to the project's mission from the earliest drafts of the story. He doesn't tolerate any sort of hateful language from his team. He also tells Simon and Alex that their place on the team is secure because what matters is the high quality game they play, not that they are dating each other.

I am a firm believer in the You Can Play project and that's why I'm giving one dollar for every copy of Hat Trick sold to the organization. That way they can make a difference for the real Simon's and Alex's in the world.

If you pickup a copy of Hat Trick, I hope you enjoy it and tell your friends about it too. You can also learn more about Hat Trick at www.HatTrickNovel.com and you can follow me on Twitter for more as well, @hockeyguynyc.

This is Jeff in his hockey gear. Ask him
about the bruise he got from blocking a
slapshot. Yikes!

Brinda and Yolanda, great to meet you both and thanks for the congrats. If you pick up the book, I hope you enjoy it.

Pat, if Jordan were to use the slipstream, he'd of course win. If Jordan were not using his powers it would be an intersting contest. Michael and I have talked about doing a cross over...I hope we give that a go someday.

Ooo, I like Pat's question and your answer! I've read both of Michael's books and really enjoyed them too. A crossover sounds like fun and I hope it happens one day. Congratulations on your book release Jeff, I'll add it to my list and I wish you lots of success with it. (:

I'm so glad to hear about this. People are always looking for more sports books in the YA category and i'm especially glad to hear about gay characters and main characters in particular. Have you read Winger? Not hockey (rugby) but it's great (though very sad)

Jay: Agreed. I'm hoping that the sports setting gets it into the hands of some teens who might not pick it up otherwise.

Morgan: I've enjoyed stopping by today. Agreed on Twitter, it's very much a push/pull on being there.

J.L.: I hope it is unique. It is as far as I can tell. Like I said before, I'd love to read anything that's out there like it.

Julie: "Hat Trick" was my first NaNo attempt. I've done it a few other times over the years with mixed success. Last November I created another YA, which I'm still working on...it's in second draft and takes place away from hockey. Over the summer, while "Hat Trick" was in editing, I did a Camp NaNo and created a draft of what could turn into one or more "Hat Trick" sequels, I have to figure out what to do with all the plot threads I developed. Those stories will keep me busy for a while I think as they get sorted out.

Helena: Thanks for the add! Meanwhile, I say let that repressed jock out and get out and play!

Denise: I agree. The first time I saw it I fell in love with it. Some of the hockey scenes take place on a pond, so I was thrilled that the image captured that, plus there's the grey of the outside against the colors in the socks. I liked the action on the cover too. Basically I thought it was perfect :)